ALMOST three-quarters of a million pounds, linked to bribes received by a former politician and deposited into Jersey bank accounts by his son, is set to be returned to Brazil.
Earlier this month, the Royal Court granted the forfeiture of the tainted funds which was deposited into the accounts by the Brazilian national, Expedito Machado.
His father, Jose Sergio de Oliveria Machado, had received over US $40 million in bribes while working for the country’s largest oil and gas company Petrobas Transporte SA (Transpetro).
These bribes had been made by Brazilian, Greek, German and Norweigian companies to secure contracts for ship-building and other shipping services with Transpetro.
They were uncovered as part of a large-scale anti-corruption investigation in Brazil, known as “Operação Lava Jato” – translated as Operation Car Wash.
The son laundered some of these bribes that had been paid to his father between 2007 and 2013 through a complex structure involving Jersey trusts.
This involved them first being paid to Switzerland, where the funds would be distributed to other Swiss accounts to make it seem like it came from ordinary commercial transactions rather than its true origin.
Four Jersey trusts, funded by bribe monies transferred from Switzerland, were used in the scheme and the money used to buy property in the UK.
The Economic Crime and Confiscation Unit of the Law Officers’ Department was able to show that money used for the acquisition of these properties held by the underlying companies of Jersey trusts originated from the payments received abroad as bribes and which were first deposited in Switzerland.
While the Jersey court did not make any findings, Expedito Machado has pleaded guilty to money laundering offences in Brazil and Switzerland and cooperated with both of their authorities in identifying the proceeds of crime.
He also cooperated with the proceedings in Jersey by confirming the underlying facts to the Attorney General in a sworn affidavit.
Now that the forfeiture totalling £725,783 has been granted, the Attorney General will liaise with Brazilian authorities to return the funds to Brazil, minus the costs to the Law Officers’ Department in recovering the funds.
Attorney General Matthew Jowitt KC said: “ECCU and our Mutual Legal Assistance Team (with support from the Jersey Financial Intelligence Unit) have worked in close partnership with the Advocacia-Geral da União and the Swiss Public Prosecutor to recover tainted property on behalf of the people of Brazil. The Royal Court’s order concludes a complex and long-running asset forfeiture investigation by ECCU.
“This is further evidence that the 2018 Forfeiture Law is a vital tool in recovering the proceeds of corruption and restoring that money to victims of international financial crime.”
